I Have Found 2 Super Great Resources!

Genealogists everywhere need to know about these new genealogical resources... I was shocked at how much I was able to find about my family lines that I have been researching for years.

The first source, although not very well organized, had file folders that were in alphabetical order... at least for the most part.  Some of the information I was well aware of, but a lot seemed to be all new!!!

The second source, was extremely haphazard with all kinds of other non-genealogical material mixed in with it.  This source would be the last place I would send any of our bloggers, but when I sorted through the stacks of hundreds of pages of paper - I found so much great material on many of my lines.  Just a gold mine of information: U.S. census images, deeds, wills, family stories, family photos, old correspondence.  Although some seemed to be known to me, most every page seemed to be totally new material!

Back to the first source - one that was widely used by genealogists prior to the explosion of computerized databases. It was something I used to the best of my ability.  It was not always easy to retrieve or locate information, but if you kept at it, you usually could find what you wanted.  The bad part of this system was when something got into the wrong folder.  Computer databases could have the same problem with an item being placed in the wrong place, as well... with the exception of being able to use a search engine to find it.  This source has been around for a very long time... I used to say that I decided to do some "original research" in my file cabinet drawers!  I said this because over the years, I would forget what was in many of the file folders.  This is similar to loose-leaf notebooks sitting on shelves or worse under the bed or in a box hidden from view. One big bonus of checking this source is that something you kept that its connection to your family had been dubious, may now be the missing link to prove your latest findings.  The longer you have been researching the more "forgotten" information are in those old filing cabinets or notebooks... go through what you have accumulated over the years to find some new gems of information that could be just the "treasure" you have been looking for!

Now for that second "gold mine," it is the curse of the Internet of a busy genealogist, especially one that tends to procrastinate a little too often.  I am speaking of when you print out great info from all types of sources from your computer.  You find some census images of many in your family and you print out these to review later.  You get great emails from another researcher or distant cousin that you print out... because you do not want to "lose it" among all of those less relevant messages.  However, you tend to print out that great joke and the cool information on how to make something cool out of paper clips and old floppy disks that end up mixed between you genealogy data in the tray.  Then, when your tray gets too full, you take the pages out and set them aside to be sorted out at a later time as you dutifully print out more volumes of all kinds of cool things and genealogy items.  What a disorganized mess it will soon become.  It amazes me that three or four months can quickly pass by before I even think about sorting out my "great new genealogical finds" from all of the other things.  I guess I should confess and admit sometimes these stacks do not get sorted for a year or longer before I take the time to go through them.  I generally will not let anymore time go past then when the stacks of printouts are as tall as my computer desk... I do have standards!

The last week or two, I have been going through these unsorted stacks of printouts finding all kinds of great stuff that I do not even remember ever finding.  Then I look into the filing cabinet to file it safely away and find some other material neatly hidden in my filing cabinet folders!!!

I hate to admit my haphazard genealogical habits, but when you have so much to do and so many things to distract you, it can become easy to "print & file" or "print & stack!"  I am currently working on a major project to put all of my papers into file folders and then go through these files gleaning new information into my computer database (and then to back it up on a flash drive).

Does anyone else find these two resources being overlooked in their own homes?  If you do, have you found any significant revelations for your family history? Like the TV commercial states: "Don't have stacks of printouts and buried info in filing cabinets! Get rid of cable TV!"  Or as I suggest, don't let your genealogy stack up or get buried in files! 

Hey, let me tell you about the greatest find in over 50 years of my researching... well, maybe in another blog, someday.

- Compiled by JGWest

Family Reunions and y-DNA

Going to St. Louis this month.

My WEST Family Surname Group # 5 will hold their annual family reunion this year in St. Louis.  Those in attendance will be related to each other proven by matches in their y-DNA.  Many of us have found the documentation of records to confirm the y-DNA results.  In many cases it was the y-DNA that confirmed the documentation.

Our group used FamilyTreeDNA for our testing... Group #5 is still the largest of 39 groups of West families with 19 individuals.  Below is a table of the current status of the West Surname Project.

Number of Y-DNA participants	339
Test kits returned	311
Y-DNA results posted to web page	310
Number of Family groups identified by DNA	39

We now have Y-DNA results for 310 WEST-surname males, identifying 113 unrelated WEST lines. We are a very diverse genetic group. Our surname was adopted many times by people in different locations. As more WEST's participate in the project, the benefit to all WEST researchers increases. 

With so many West families being unrelated, it makes it more difficult to find cousins and very hard to find ancestors.  There are many tools to help us in our research... the more we can use the better chances we will have to break down "brick walls" and to find new cousins to help us research records in courthouses and libraries.  We have been able to resolve many long standing questions for researchers in our line of the West's and we are beginning to coordinate and focus our research more to solve other mysteries concerning our family history.

Our West family reunion is a great opportunity to get together in person and discuss approaches to zero in on issues that we can attack at different levels & directions.

If you have not yet tried DNA testing, check it out... you may be very much surprised at what you might learn.  Long-time TSGS member Chris Myers just recently took a y-DNA test.  Let us all wish him success in what he might learn!

- Compiled by JGWest (AKA: Nate Flynn, the Librarian)

West, Texas Explosion

Last week was a very bad week in the United States.  The Boston bombings and the fertilizer plant explosions in West, Texas will long be in our memories as a nation prayed for the families of those who died or were injured.  My family has a connection to the town of West, Texas.

Thomas Marion West was born November 5th, 1834 in Christian County, Kentucky. After moving to Texas he fought in the civil war becoming a Captain in the 19th Texas Cavalry Regiment. After the war he married Martha Jame Adams Steele in McLennan County, Texas. He was a farmer and later became the Postmaster at the Bold Springs train depot. The train depot was built on land originally owned by Thomas West. Later the depot with Thomas West as postmaster became known as the West Depot and in 1892 the area was incorporated as the town of West. Thomas West died on January 27, 1912 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Ross, Texas, about 5 miles south of West.

Thomas West was born in Christian Co., KY, the son of William Ellis West and Narcissa Stroud.  William Ellis West was a brother to my 3rd. great grandfather Jesse West, their father Charles H. West is a common ancestor for Thomas M. West and myself.  My 2nd. great grandfather was named for Thomas' father, William Ellis West.  He and Thomas M. West were first cousins.

Another son of Charles H. West was Thomas Allen West who also went to Texas settling in Denton County.

- Compiled by JGWest  [some of the above info was obtained from a web site supplied by Sandra Abbott yesterday http://www.west-tx.c­om/genealogy/ThomasWe­st/ including the grave marker photo (photo taken 7/5/2008 by bvm)... no contact info was available.]

Lost Cemeteries and Discovered Unknown Graves

Yesterday's Evansville Courier & Press ran another interesting story on lost & discovered grave sites that seem to be found by accident by contractors doing some sort of construction/excavating work.  Read the online article at this link:

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2013/jan/26/there-are-unknown-grave-sites-among-us/

"According to state law, anyone who finds human remains or artifacts must notify the Department of Natural Resources within two days. So when a historic cemetery is unearthed, Jeannie Regan-Dinius hears about it. She is the cemetery registry coordinator at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' division of historic preservation and archaeology."

The article mentions the SHAARD cemetery database - this "database is part of the Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Database, also known as SHAARD. The database is available online at http://bit.ly/WrOp8D. From that page, click the 'Enter SHAARD as a guest' link to access the database."  You will be required to accept their terms and conditions and then on the next page you will select the survey type... select "cemetery registry"  I just entered Vanderburgh County & Perry Township in the search box and got all the cemeteries registered in that township.  One is listed as "Forgotten Cemetery" dubbed by Glenda Trapp when we (TSGS) copied the cemetery in 1983 (that was nearly 30 years ago) by Glenda, Bonnie Fehd and her son Andrew with John G. West.  This was published in the Vanderburgh two-volume set of cemetery inscription books that many TSGS members helped transcribe grave markers in the smaller cemeteries of the county.  These books are for sale and still available.  The page of who is buried there was photocopied from our publication.  There is a military marker possibly from the Civil War in this "forgotten cemetery."

This SHAARD cemetery database is a great registry for Indiana's cemeteries and hopefully will help prevent some from being lost, forgotten or destroyed.

- Compiled by JGWest

TSGS Web Site

It has been some time since I mentioned our TSGS web site here on the blog.  On 14 Dec 2008, we began using a new counter with a cool world map that maintained some interesting facts about where many of our visitors to the site were checking us out.  The counter is named ClustrMaps.  Since we began its use, we have gotten 13,926 hits from all over the world.  In addition to the United States, we have been visited by at least one person from 46 countries with Germany leading the way, 42 hits; next is Canada with 31 visits; 25 from Taiwan; United Kingdom (GB) had 19; and Ireland finished the top 5 with 10 hits!

Over the last three years, we have had a total of 9,953 hits around the world, of these the United States had 9,731 with Indiana getting a huge bulk of these visits (4,192).  The other two states in the Tri-State area were Illinois with 598 hits and Kentucky had 572.  These were the top 3 and the following are the remainder of the top 10: California 492, Texas 312, Michigan 310, Florida 256, Ohio 248, Missouri 209, and Tennessee with 171.

When you go to our web site - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~intsgs/index.html 
scroll to the bottom center and click on the map to see graphically on a world map where our visits are located and a list of states and countries with their totals.

The wide spread of these hits explains why we have so many TSGS members scattered all over the U.S.A.

- Compiled by JGWest

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Tri-State Genealogical Society wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!

As you visit family & friends today and the days between now and the beginning of 2013, think about getting more information about your more recent family history. 

A great Christmas gift for today or the next few days might be a brief family history from the person you are gifting as far back as you have proven.  Print it out and put it into a loose leaf notebook that you can slide a title page into the front cover of the notebook.  Consider using the clear plastic page protectors so that the pages will last longer... and you will not have to punch holes in the sheets of paper!  I have given several of these as special Christmas gifts over the years, and I will tell you that they were especially appreciated.

John G. West, TSGS Vice-President

Christmas Social - 11 Dec 2012

TSGS hopes you can attend our 2012 Christmas Social at Willard Library on the second floor.  If you want, you can bring a snack for everyone to enjoy.  There will be snacks & refreshments available.  You do not have to be a member to attend... so, come one, come all!!!

The whole event is informal... allowing time to socialize, brag about your latest family discoveries, ask others about your "brick walls" in your research.  Remember that someone in the society probably has had to deal with a similar problem you may be experiencing and just maybe - they figured out how to get around it!

The get-together is always a great time to get to know some of the TSGS members.  There is an excellent chance that Indiana Bones will make an appearance!  Who knows, maybe Santa might show-up, too!

President Don Counts & Vice-President John G. West

A Very Vital... Vital Statistic!

Recently, I discovered a cousin that I did not know of before. This cousin, Bart Burke, is descended from my Thomas West, Jr. and from that line is my 6^th. cousin one generation younger than me. However, he also descends from Joseph Phipps and Margaret G. Woodis making him a 3^rd. cousin one generation removed. We made arrangements to meet at Willard Library for me to give him a lot of new information on these lines. While preparing my information & notes, etc. - I remembered some great new information on the Woodis line that I had found, basically by accident.

The incident occurred at least 20 years ago when I learned from Mary Lou Bevers at one of our genealogical meetings – this alone is justification for joining a genealogical society! I often got some great tidbits of information and “secrets” that helped me in my research and especially getting around brick walls. This one was a simple one about all of the Kentucky birth & death certificates available in the State Office of Vital Statistics up to a not so distant date from the current day were listed in large volumes and several counties throughout Kentucky had them available for viewing in the courthouse. Henderson County, KY was one of these wonderful counties which is just across the Ohio River from Evansville where I live. I went rushing over there the next day looking for the death certificate of my great, great grandmother Cincinnati O. Williams the wife of William Ellis West of Christian Co., KY.

She was not listed in any format or variation I could think of. I decided to look up other death certificates for other ancestors. Woodis was always a good one to check first because there were so few of them. The furthermost that I had gone back was Littleberry Woodis and his wife Luvana (maiden name unknown). One of their sons (in my direct line) was William H. Woodis and his wife Amanda. This William was born in 1818 and I suspected that he had died before the 1870 census, since only Amanda and the kids could be found. This William and Amanda had a son William; with this second one having a William, also - making it 3 generations in a row with a William Woodis. In the vital statistics books I found a William Woodis that died in 1913 in Christian County with his death certificate number. Since I was confident that the oldest William had died before 1870 and besides he would have been about 95 years old in 1913! The third William seemed too young and should have lived past 1913... maybe. So, I suspected this to be the middle William that I did not descend, but hopefully he would have his mother's full name (Amanda ?) listed on his death certificate. I sent off for it and was so excited to get it in the mail about a week later. But, when I opened it, I was confused as it said he was born in 1818 and died at age 95 with his father Littleberry Woodis and his mother was Luvana Blalock... this was William H. Woodis who I thought died in 1870 or earlier! Later, I found him in the census in Illinois and back to Kentucky for the other census that he would have been in. He had divorced Amanda Black and married Nancy Cannon before the 1879 Census.

William H. Woodis Obituary: Hopkinsville Kentuckian Mar. 25, 1913 PIONEER CITIZEN

W. H. Woodis Dies Near Laytonsville, Aged 95, among the oldest citizens of the county died Fri. night at the home of his son-in-law W. H. Woodford, near Laytonsville. Death was caused by pneumonia and resulted after an illness of only 5 days. The deceased was born in this county June 9, 1818, and he was therefore nearly 95 years old. His parents were natives of NC . Mr. Woodis had resided in Christian all of his life, excepting about two years which were spent in Illinois. He is survived by three children: Mrs. Woodford, of Laytonsville; W.R. Woodis of Todd Co. and T.A. Woodis of Lewisburg, Logan Co. His wife passed away about a year ago. Mr. Woodis was a member of the Methodist Church, having professed religion during a revival at Vaughn's Grove last summer. He had been twice married, his first wife died many years ago. The interment took place at Ebenezer Saturday.

- Written by JGWest

Found Another Cousin!

Discovered another cousin...

 

a double cousin. It is always a pleasure to find cousins, especially ones interested in family history. This one is kind of special because he is also interested in SAR; in fact, he is a member of the Ohio Valley SAR Chapter as one of our very newest members. After Bart Burke was inducted as a new member at our recent chapter meeting, we were causually talking and he mentioned that he had some West ancestors from Christian Co., KY. Note that there are a whole lot of West families that are almost everywhere... many, many are not related as proven by y-DNA results. We have learned that Bart is a direct descendant of Thomas West, Jr. (my SAR patriot), but he also is a decendant of Joseph Phipps and Margaret Woodis, his wife... I am descended from them, as well.

 

JGWest

TSGS Meeting Report

For those who could not attend our last TSGS Monthly Meeting, I offer this report...

We had 20 people attend last Tuesday night's meeting.  I sincerely believe that it was the shortest meeting in our over 35 year history - total time about 32 minutes after the meeting was called to order by President Don Counts.

Diana Davis, Treasurer, presented the following report:
Balance on 31 August 2012 - $2382.79
September income - 2075.86
Expenses -1017.76
Balance on 30 September 2012 - $3440.89
Membership: 187 individuals + 10 library subscription

Lyn Martin gave the library report on the following:
- New multi-generation family charts are available for $1 each
- New Kentucky death records arrived recently
- Circulating collection is going well

Greg Hager, Willard Library Director, made comments encouraging the society and offered the library's email database as a way to promote the society more.

John West made a motion to begin future meetings at 6:30 P.M. Sue Hebbeler seconded the motion. A majority vote approved 6:30 P.M. as starting time for future meetings.  The society membership also voted to cancel the TSGS Annual Dinner meeting in April.

Don Counts presented the program on Bio-Terrorism and Biological Warfare in the Revolutionary War.  Diana Davis’ name was drawn for the attendance prize which was a membership to TSGS for 2013.  John West called attention to a Facebook page for the TSGS a link to it can be found on the TSGS Cruiser Blog (above).

- Reported by John G. West, TSGS Vice-President

What is Digital Archiving?

Is "Digital Archiving" becoming the big buzz phrase for genealogical societies, libraries and other organizations?  It is with TSGS and many other organizations everywhere!  Our genealogical society has been talking about this subject for several years now, but have not done much more than say we need to talk about it.

Our society is very fortunate to have an experienced, knowledgeable person in the computer/electronic/media field who works with data storage.  University of Southern Indiana Retired Professor Larry Goss has been trying to get us more into the electronic age.  Larry has been digitally archiving past issues of our members quarterly journal, The Tri-State Packet, for several years now.  He is wanting the society to consider other alternatives to archiving these quarterlies.

It is amazing how many other groups are going to digital newsletters and quarterlies.  But, actually, it should not be all that amazing since going digital will reduce storage space and costs.  With all of the personal media electronic devices like smart phones, Kindles, Ipads, etc.  Digital data is the way everything will be available and at our fingertips in seconds.  A 20-yr-old is working with me.  He has this cool app on his Droid that when placed near the speaker of the truck radio, it will tell him all about a song that is playing: name, artist, album, recording date and more!  He can type in a tree or insect name and in a second have a photo of it and just everything you could ever want to know about an Elm tree or a June Bug!

This very morning, Dick Eastman has on his blog Eastman's Online Genealogical Newsletter (EOGN) a good article on going paperless with digital archiving.  He has a link to another very good article that both are very good for us less knowledgeable and possibly a little to a lot electronically challenged.  I suggest everyone should read both of these short articles to reduce storage of paper and make retrieval so much easier & faster.  Here are the links to the two articles:

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/09/digital-scanning-system-replaces-paper-frees-up-space.html

http://digitalrv.rvtravel.com/2012/09/digital-scanning-system-vamooses-paper.html

Let us know what you think about "Digital Archiving."

- Written by JGWest

Tri-State Genealogical Society - Which One?

I was looking through Cyndi's List for some information on "Digital Archiving" and found myself looking in "Societies & Groups" and thought I would check to see if we were listed, Cyndi only has 7280 links for this category.  Good news, we were listed and with a separate link for this blog.  But the bad news is that there are four "Tri-State Genealogical Societies" listed... which one are we?  Well, that is not difficult to see which one represents Indiana, Illinois & Kentucky as each one lists which tri-state is represented by that organization. 

Besides the 4 tri-state groups, there are 3 tri-county societies and a tri-city.  Bear in mind that these are listed because they each have a web site of one sort or another... there may be more tri-state, tri-county or tri-city groups that do not have a web site or have not ensured that they were listed.  As I said our TSGS represents IN, KY, IL... there is one for 3 counties in WV, OH, PA (they could have called themselves "tri-county" as well!).  The other 2 TSGS's cover South Dakota, Montana & Wyoming with the second one covering Arizona, California and Nevada.

We can boast about being around for a long time being organized in 1977, but Tri-City Genealogical Society was founded in 1961.

Here is a link to our web site: TSGS: IL, IN, KY

You can "LIKE" us on Face Book
Tri-State Genealogical Society

- Compiled by JGWest

From the Firdt Mate's Photo Album - Willard Library

Very Large Portrait

of George Washington

with Horse

Hangs midway on the stairs to the second floor.

 

This photo and excerpts below are from the Willard Library website: Washington's Portrait. [Click on the link to the left for this photo and story.]

This copy of Gilbert Stuart’s “George Washington at Dorcester Heights” (which hangs at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) is believed to have been painted by William Edward West.

The painting has been with Willard Library since its opening, but how it came to the Library was a mystery until 1954.

At that time, Julia Evans Stephens Shea, a resident of Hollywood, California, and descendent of General Robert M. Evans, was visiting Evansville. During her stay, she read a newspaper article by Bish Thompson on the cleanup and minor restoration of the painting.

Shea was the only living heir to the painting in 1954, and she determined it should be left on display at Willard Library. It hangs there today.

Willard Library Director Greg Hager told me an interesting story about this painting that maybe I will be able to get him to share on this blog!  My middle son, JJ, who just turned 37 lives in Cincinnati and asked me about this painting that he remembers as an 8 or 9 year old.

Photographs of Willard Library, 1948

• Click to view enlarged image.

J. Paul Wurtz is the photographer of these Willard Library images, taken in 1948.

Reading Table and Bench

• Click to view enlarged image.

The reading table and bench from Columbia school were a gift from Mrs. Sam Warren.

Willard Library and Other Notable Buildings of Evansville

• Click to view enlarged image.

The depictions of Willard Library and other notable buildings of Evansville are from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, October 12, 1889.

- Compiled by JGWest

Link Changes to Evansville City Cemeteries

I go to the City Cemeteries (Oak Hill & Locust Hill) almost every day to search for a grave.  Last night, I could not get to these great genealogical databases... I got instead a re-direct to a login page.  I went to the Oak Hill Cemetery Face Book site and asked what was happening.  The City/County web sites just recently went through some revising which included some changes in the URL's to the various governmental departments.  For some unknown reason the old links bring you to the login page instead of a re-direct to the new URL address or simply inform you that the sites have been revised with new Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses.  Oak Hill management quickly provided all that I needed just a few minutes after 8 AM... special thanks to Chris & his staff!

This is one of the biggest problems with the Internet that after you find a great site... you bookmark it and then that bookmark becomes a bad link because the site changed servers or simply just changed the URL within the site. I have worked 16 years on the Internet and have figured out ways to find these elusive new addresses for the sites I want to visit.  Fortunately, I found a way to get to the cemetery databases late last night when I wanted to get a little info about a Gus Mattingly that had drowned trying to save others!  His grave marker was featured on a "Tombstone Thursday" on this TSGS Cruiser Blog (check the labels to the right for a link to that blog -"Gus Mattingly").

Anyway, I got a quick response this morning from that Cemetery Face Book page which I appreciate very much!  They gave me the new URL's to use on the links for the Tri-State Genealogical Society's web site for those who visit our site.  They have been updated on our site.

If you would want to bookmark the new URL's, here is the two cemetery databases and the Evansville City Cemeteries' home page

Locust Hill Cemetery Database Search http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/locusthill.aspx

Oak Hill Cemetery Database Search  http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/oakhill.aspx

Evansville City Cemeteries Home Page  http://www.evansville.in.gov/index.aspx?page=1334

Now, that fall is upon us, you might want to visit the city cemeteries, especially Oak Hill, to see all of the beautiful trees as they change colors.  I have spent hours photographing the breath taking beauty of this cemetery!

- Compiled by JGWest

"Genealogy is Like a Very Big Puzzle"

I have always liked to solve mysteries and to put together puzzles.  I was making a comment on one of MyFamily.com groups of many of my West family and other related families.  We have pooled our resources and what we already have learned to attempt to fill in the gaps of our family history.  I suddenly wrote that it was like we were all working on one very big puzzle.

We are finding the puzzle pieces, but we need to be able to put them all together. As with puzzles, many of us start by finding the flat edged pieces to put together the outer edges (frame) and then concentrate on areas of similar characteristics putting the pieces in one by one until they all connect and the puzzle is complete. This is what we are trying to do, except it is hard to make that frame and there are so many pieces that seem to be the same! :) Also because we can not find some documented records, the pieces are not complete or some of the image of the piece was damaged (lost). No matter what, it is very hard to put together a puzzle if you do not have all of the pieces.

When we first start researching our families, there are just a few that we know who may be of help to us.  As time goes on we build a network of researchers and resources.  We use libraries, DNA, courthouses, friends & family, genealogical societies, the Internet.  Many now are using resources like Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, bulletin boards, USGenWeb, MyFamily.com and so many others.  What we are doing are looking for the pieces of the puzzle and trying to connect the pieces.

The group I mentioned is a good sized group of cousins that are trying to find these puzzle pieces and then try to put them together as a large diverse group of people.  When I work on a picture puzzle, it seems to get put together so much faster when there are several working together.

Genealogical societies provide resources to help us put together our family puzzles.  Working with others who are researching the same family can increase your chances of finding missing pieces and then connecting them.

My point is that our family puzzles have been scattered about and some pieces are lost or damaged beyond recognition.  We can not rely on just one resource or one person to gather most of these pieces.  We need to work together as much as we can and we can put together that family puzzle.  Of course, once we get that puzzle done, we start expanding the frame!  Hopefully, putting together the puzzle will be fun and enlightening as you go.

- Written by JGWest

TSGS Meeting Report

 

TSGS Meeting

Willard Library

Bayard Room

11 Sep 2012

 

 

 

Since this was 911 Patriot's Day, President Don Counts brought in his "Flag of Honor" with all of the names of those killed in the 911 attack in New York.  The names are used to make the stripes.  Vice-President John G. West helped Don show the flag at the meeting.  With about 30 people present the Bayard Room was a little crowded.

Earlier in the meeting, Special Collections Director Lyn Martin gave the library report mentioning up-coming events and informed the society that due to costs and security, all patrons needed to be out of the building no later than 8PM.  Since we have been meeting at 7PM this put pressure on us to get everything in and adjourn the meeting before 8 O'Clock.

The Finance Committee with approval of the TSGS Board of Directors proposed the 2012-2013 Budget which was accepted by the membership.

Indiana Bones presented his "Cemetery Stories" for the program.  The program was cut short in order to be out by 8PM.  The society may have to meet earlier or meet on weekends to avoid cutting meetings short.

John G. West, TSGS Vice-President

TSGS on Face Book

Check us out and click "LIKE" so we can move ahead just a little more into the tech world!!! Click on this link to see our site: Tri-State Genealogical Society Face Book Page.   We have 31 likes since the page was launched late last night.  We have 250+ members... it would be great to see this number of likes into 200 or more.  Quite a few of these first 31 are not TSGS members.  They are giving us some great support and comments!  After you "like" us then come back often and make a comment or contribute something to the page.  Help make this a success!  It will be another great tool to help all of us with our genealogy and history.

John G. West, TSGS Vice-President
TSGS Web Master
TSGS Blog Master
TSGS Face Book Admin

TSGS Meeting - Tonight!

 

TONIGHT

Tri-State Genealogical Society
(TSGS) Meeting Notice!

When: Tuesday 11 Sep 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: Willard Library - 2nd. Floor
What: Monthly Meeting

 

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting... you must be present to win.
The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting that anyone can attend.

 

Program will feature TSGS Vice-President John G. West

as Indiana Bones presenting his "Cemetery Stories!"

 

 

- Released by Donald R. Counts, TSGS President

Tombstone Thursday - Norton

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

James Earl Norton

1915-2003

Frances Helen McBride

1920-2001

Married for 65 years!

(Section D, Lot 2, Graves 8 &9)

 

Great Grandparents of Ryan Lurker who works with JGWest.

 

- Photo taken by Indiana Bones.

 

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated

in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Jumping to Conclusions

“Do Not Let the Trash Can Get in Your Way!”

While working at a business recently, I went into a small room that had swinging doors. The entry way was partially blocked by a large plastic trash can. I moved it slightly and slipped past it pushing one of the doors into the small room. Within a few seconds I was heading out of the room, pushing the same door I went through before. It was blocked by the trash can. I reached through pushing the can back so I could open the door to get out. I just went through the same door seconds earlier, I thought how in the world did this can get in the way? Did someone come along and move it? My first, immediate thought was that someone must have moved it! So, what were the facts?

When I went into the room, I pushed the door in and away from the trash can that I had moved a little to get by it. Then as I was going out I pushed the door away from me toward the trash can. I had not moved the can far enough for the door to swing both ways. So, it turns out that I was the only one that moved the can. I had to laugh at my thought that someone moved the can in my way. It was a foolish conclusion based on circumstantial information.

In our genealogical research, we often do not find solid documented evidence; and we have to make reasonable conclusions based on circumstantial information that often leads to false assumptions and conclusions. This is also compounded when you want the evidence to prove these conclusions to be true facts! When we have only circumstantial evidence, we need to ask what are the facts? Then try to piece all of the evidence together to reach a reasonable conclusion. Accepting weak evidence for fact can cause you some serious stumbling blocks to go back in time about your family.

- Written by JGWest.